Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a Below Deck charter guest? What can you request? What is out of the question? How do the cast members really act? Are they professional? Or are the romances and workplace tension very apparent? There are just so many questions that come to mind. Personally, I’m such a fan that I would want to hang out with the crew members just as much as I would want to chill with my own friends. Who am I kidding? I would ditch my closest friends to have dinner with Captain Lee Rosbach.
Charley Walters has the answers to a lot of those questions. He was a charter guest on Below Deck multiple times. During the most recent season, Charley and his friends reminded Second Stew Josiah Carter of the bullying he faced growing up. Ultimately, it all ended well with Josiah rocking a gold speedo at their gold themed event. Nevertheless, the episode did showcase Josiah’s vulnerability, something the viewers did not get to see much of considering Josiah’s near perfection as an employee.
Sure, Charley and his group was loud and they had a list of demands, but isn’t that the point of chartering a yacht? Other than ordering tequila shots and various cocktails, they didn’t actually succumb to the bullying that Josiah anticipated with their arrival. Yes, they were a pretty demanding clique, but show me some charter guests who aren’t. Oh right, they wouldn’t make the cut for a season of Below Deck. Moving on.
In an exclusive interview with Reality Tea, Charley dished on what it’s like to be a charter guest on the show. Was he surprised by Josiah’s bullying storyline? Charley frankly declared, “Not really. It was the best storyline and it provided the best TV. Of course, when they made him the victim I was made to look like a bully.”
Unfortunately for Charley, that resulted in some social media backlash. He even joked, “And that opened the floodgates of Twitter haters.”
It really all ended up fine though. Charley shared, “Josiah is NOT as uptight as he’s made to look on the show. He and Laura [Betancourt] came to LA recently and we had a fun club night out.” If only that was filmed for Below Deck. They really should have an after show following the crew members’ lives when they step off the yacht, beyond the occasional crew nights out, of course.
Josiah and Laura aren’t the only cast members that Charley has hung out with post-charter. He shared, “Baker [Manning] was my favorite on Season 5 .”
And who’s his Season 6 favorite? Rhylee Gerber. I guess she didn’t yell “I got it!” at him 8,636 times. However, she did ask Charley and his friends for advice about her hookups with bunkmate Tyler Rowland.
Who was his least favorite from Season 6? Charley joked, “I’m going with Ashton [Pienaar] just because he ignored our flirting completely. But, he was still great.” Ironically enough, Charley commented, “I have to say we had no idea about Laura and Ashton. The kept this one truly ‘Below Deck.'”
Charley even visited Season 5 cast member Bruno Duarte in Portugal. He shared, “We’ve kept in touch. He was actually a very gracious host.”
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Clearly, Charley and his friends made a great impression on the crew. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for all of the Below Deck viewers. Thank you, editing. Charley said, “This show is mostly about the crew, not the guests, so instead they will, of course, use the few lines where we complained about the food.” He also noted that Adrian Martin’s food was some of the best he’s ever had.
Charley pointed out, “You might notice in our first episode that all of my friends were edited to be ‘Billy’ even though Billy was one of my seven guests. They pretty much used whatever sound bites they could pull from, even though we all had separate, clearly marked microphones. He concluded, “It’s not really fair to [the guests], but it is kind of what you sign up for when you agree to do this type of trip and show.” Fair enough. Plus, it just sounds like he had an amazingly fun time.
So how did Charley make such strong connections with the Below Deck crew? He shared some of the scenes that didn’t make it into the episodes. Charley revealed, “In Tahiti, we filmed a storyline about my grandpa who was in the Navy. He told me that no matter what I did I life I had to visit Tahiti, hence the reason for the trip.”
Because of that “Kate [Chastain] put up a picture of him with little flowers.” Charley added, “It was so sweet of her. And we referenced him a lot throughout the weekend.” That’s actually so sweet. Of course, that didn’t make it into the show.
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So where does that gold speedo come in during such a meaningful trip? Charley shared, “The ‘gold dinner’ was actually in celebration of an annual ‘Gold Meets Golden’ charity event my friend Scott and I produce with Nicole Kidman and a bunch of Olympians. We made Olympic medals for the whole crew upon departure and they made them for us too.” So much for the attempt at a “bullying” storyline.
He also described a scene that should have been a part of the show. Charley revealed, ” We had a ‘onesie party’ where the entire crew dressed as crazy animals. After, we all went skinny dipping with Rhylee as our ‘coach.’ Rhylee came to dinner one night dressed as the captain and did a hilarious impression of him.” At least Rhylee got one leadership role this season. Right?
Below Deck Season 6 really was that good. There were just so many great scenes that they all couldn’t make the cut. The Below Deck crew not only entertained the viewers, but they also had a lot of fun with the charter guests. Nevertheless, it is always the “drama” that makes the cut. Of course.
Click through the photo gallery below to see photos of Charley with the Below Deck cast members, preference sheets from the charter, and more!
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CHARLEY’S ANECDOTES? DID YOU SEE A DIFFERENT SIDE OF HIM THAN WHAT WAS SHOWN ON BELOW DECK? WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A CHARTER GUEST ON BELOW DECK? WHICH BELOW DECK CREW MEMBERS WOULD YOU WANT TO HANG WITH?
[Featured Photo Credit: Charley Walters]
Charley Walters Below Deck
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Charley & Adrian
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Kate With Charley's Friends
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Rhylee & Josiah With Charter Guests
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Below Deck Cast Medals
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Preference Sheet From Charley's Charter
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Baker, Charley, & Bruno
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Charley & Bruno
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Charley Out With Kate & A Friend
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Kate & Charley
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Rhylee
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Charley & His Friends
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Charley With His Friends
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Hanging On The Rope
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Charley With His Friends
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Charley With Friends